Know What You Eat

How well do you Know What You Eat?

People here in Arlington and around the country are increasingly involved in growing and harvesting their own food, and care-taking their land. Using short interviews, we’re gathering their experiences:

Beekeeping

Name: Martin Ogle – Chief Naturalist for the Northern Virginia Regional Park AuthorityWhat’s the most unexpected thing you’ve learned?There are so many unexpected and profound things to learn from a bee colony. One small example for me was being able to actually witness the establishment of a new queen bee after the previous queen had flown off with about 1/2 the colony (a process called “swarming”).Read more…

Backyard Gardening

Name: Reidy B – working parent with 2 kidsLocation: Alcova Heights, ArlingtonAdvice to someone who wants to start their own vegetable and herb garden?
Don’t start a huge garden the first year. Ease into it. I think back to what I spent the most money on at the previous year’s farmers market, and start there. So I almost always grow Sun Gold cherry tomatoes (very easy), some mescalin, and basil. You could easily do all that in a few pots.Read more…

When did you start, and why?
We moved into a house in 2004 with a small and fairly horrible garden. I removed and planted randomly for a while and then read William Cullina on native trees and shrubs and subsequently native perennials i.e. wildflowers. He talked about – rhapsodized in some cases – plants as food and shelter for wildlife, as part of the ecological whole, in addition to being decorative,
fragrant, etc.Read more….

Do you have a ‘Know What You Eat’ practice of your own? We’d love to hear all about it!

I am a substitute in the Arlington county public library system, and a 2010 Master Gardener trainee. Since 1997, I have maintained a native plant garden at my house using only containers. I am certified as a backyard habitat, and will soon be listed as a Monarch Butterfly way station. I got into gardening as a method of relaxation, and a way to defeat panic attacks. I always say that I bury my sorrows in the soil to tranform them into something purified and beautiful. I took 3 classs with the USDA graduate school in horticulture and perennial plants. I simply love digging in the dirt, and smelling the frangrant blossoms. I am amazed when Monarch butterflies lay their eggs on my milkweed, and a new generation of butterflies emerges. You become part of a great and mysterious natural event: the Monarch butterfly migration to Mexico. To see a Monarch butterfly go through its life cycle is to understand tranformation and resurrection. The most unexpected thing I learned is this: if you kill a plant, you know it, and you will know what to do next time, so as not to kill it. I would advise anyone who is looking to start a native plant garden to know their soil (do a soil test); know their light (sunny or shade), and pick the brains of all the gardeners around you 🙂

If you have not heard, the Virginia legislature wishes to close all Virginia Cooperative Extension Offices in Northern Virginia. Our representatives seem to think the VCE offices are a luxury that the state can ill afford. Such short-sightedness continues to boggle my mind.

I am a Master Gardener of the 2006 graduating class. My family planted vegetable gardens as our primary means of nutritious foods. After completing a degree in nursing I joined the Peace Corps and got involved in gardening again as a key part of living in a developing country setting. After returning home I was introduced to a book that continues to be meaningful for me, Diet for A Small Planet, by Frances Moore Lappe. That was MANY years ago. I love the ways in which plants teach us about life cycles, persistence (every time I see a green shoot pushing through urban concrete I’m reminded that persistence counts!), simplicity and the wonder of living things as well as the value of humility. It’s inspirational that such small things can provide so much inspiration. The varieties, textures and unexpected places plants choose to grow is almost endless. Gardening is relaxing and also a great way to exercise and soak in vitamin D. Even when we make major mistakes most plants are extremely forgiving. One of the most unexpected things I continue to learn is how much pleasure you can get from a very modest effort and how much interest urbanites have in getting acquainted with gardening of all kinds.
My advice is, “Just do it!.” Start simply and try things that interest you. Be creative in using the space available and have fun! Arlington and Alexandria have an abundance of free resources available to help such as the Master Gardener hortline, 703.228.6414 where MGs can assist you with your specific questions. Finally, consider planting some vegetables along with flowers.

I have a plot in one of Arlington County’s Community Gardens. Since my yard at home is mostly shade, I joined the Community Garden about 15 years ago and have loved having a 10×25 plot in which to grow my own organic peas, lettuce, spinach, beans, tomatoes, peppers, squash, eggplant, herbs, kale, collards, turnips, beets. I share this garden plot with a friend and she loves flowers, so our plot also makes room for zinnias, sunflowers, batchelor’s buttons, chrysanthemums, poppies, larkspur, iris, daisies. The best thing about it is digging in the dirt, planting seeds and watering and watching things grow. Planting tomato and pepper plants and with care, getting to harvest enough to cook up some ratatouille and still have extras to give to neighbors and friends. Picking bouquets of flowers throughout the summer is a joy. I also love that in our Community Garden we have about 30 gardeners and every plot is different. I get to walk around and see what others are doing, often sharing stories and sometimes seedlings and produce. Plus the variety and color of all those plots together makes it very beautiful. The thing I’ve learned is that I really do love sharing a garden plot with another person. We till the soil together and grow a friendship as well as growing produce and flowers. My advice if you would like to be part of a Community Garden is to call the County extension office Horticultural Tech. person (703/228-6426 to put your name on a list to be called when there is a plot opening in one of the County’s gardens. In the meantime, go to Potomac Overlook Park and take a look at the Organic Vegetable Garden maintained by Master Gardeners as a Demonstration Garden. If you go on Wednesday morning, you can ask lots of questions and see how it’s done.

I am a Master Gardener graduate from the class of 2006. I liked it so much I completed both certificates in Horticulture and Landscape Design at USDA grad school and now work as a garden coach.

Soil health is a main key. I get the low cost leaf mulch from the county every year for organic matter and make my own compost. I love how much better and fresher everything tastes and being able to grow things you can’t possibly buy in the store. My child and all her friends can’t wait to get in the garden and pick and eat the fresh fruits and vegetables. I have a big fruit and veggie plot and butterfly gardens and lots of natives. We raise the caterpillars by hand- monarchs, black swallowtails, spicebush swallowtails etc. to maximize their chance of survival.

I love how alive my garden is – there is always something moving and singing. The first thing I notice about all non-native gardens is how quiet and still they are or if they have critters – they are usually invasives like starlings.

I have grown black popcorn – awesome, multicolored melons – delicious, French chartenais melons – hard to do but delicious, fabulous raspberries, horrible strawberries – our climate is just wrong, edible flowers – no one liked them, the most tender and tasty lettuce, baby romaines, and the sweetest peas. We are trying naturally butter tasting popcorn this year and purple basil. Start small. Grow what you like to eat and take care of your soil and it will take care of you. Don’t forget to rotate. Who knew potatoes and tomatoes are related?

If you want to smell the difference, cut a bowl of your lettuce mix, buy the freshest organic lettuce mix you can find in the store and put a blindfold on your friends. 25 of 26 kids instantly smelled the difference and they all tasted it. Nothing beats homemade pesto. Did you know corn starts losing its flavor 15 minutes after being cut?

Good luck and don’t forget to call the master gardener help line. We love to answer gardener questions!